Energy Development in the Rural West

Photo by Wendy Shattil/Bob Rozinksi
/ International League of Conservation Photographers

The oil and natural gas fields of the rural West -- from North Dakota to Wyoming to Colorado and Utah -- have produced thousands of jobs and brought great prosperity to communities and families alike. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Energy development has also brought ill consequences: high crime, drugs, adverse health conditions, poor air quality and environmental degradation. Tuesday on RadioWest we’ll discuss the social and cultural effects, both positive and negative, of energy development in the rural West.